What a perfect day for a paddle along the Dunes. Being a newbie with this group, I took a deep breath and a leap of faith to join in this paddle with strangers. GULP! Oh what a day! The weather was perfect. We started out from Empire and paddled to Glen Haven. It was an uneventful paddle, except for Greg's unexpected capsize. Because I was the slower one' I continued on with Lois within talking distance to me. Babs and John stayed to help Greg back in the kayak. Note to self: always have paddle blade in the wave as it tries to overpower you. I was a little nervous at times since we had to paddle out more because the waves were more powerful closer to the shore. I did feel like I was surfing at times and was really loving the wave rides!
Of course the view never gets old. The water was tropical and I've never seen the Dunes from the water before. An eagle made his presence known to us before escaping back to the Dunes. Had a great stop for lunch, I was super hungry by then. Had another stop for a dip in the lake which was crystal clear, and came across some sort of shipwreck.
When we made our final turn to the Cannery in Glen Haven, Mother Nature thought it would be funny to make it a more difficult paddle for the final stretch. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we reached our final destination at the exact expected time.
Trip report by Camilla
Photos by John and Babs
Camilla and Babs shortly after leaving the beach in Empire
Babs looking at the dune viewpoint with people running down the dune - and then trying to crawl back up - did we mention that it was about 85 degrees?
Greg gets ready to help Babs as she lands
Lunch - notice that Babs is taking a photo of Camilla and John taking photos - see below
John is photographing the group at lunch (above) and Camilla is taking a photo of people climbing back up the dune at the overlook (see below)
An old shipwreck on the beach
A baby merganser rides on its mother's back
Babs in the foreground, Camilla on the left, and Lois on the far right.